Multiple universal vending machine for vending solid and liquid bodies



June 16, 1936. CKWALKER 2,044,110

MULTIPLE UNIVERSAL VENDING MACHINE FOR VENDING SOLID AND LIQUID BODIES Filed April 4, 1933 Patented June 16, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics MULTIPLE UNIVERSAL VENDING MACHINE FOR VENDING SOLID AND LIQUID BODIES Charles Walker, Knoxville, Tenn. Application April 4, 1933, Serial No. 664,365 9 Claims. (o1.194-s1) My invention consists in new and useful imwith the drum, having eccentrically journaled provements in coin controlled mechanism for thereon one end of a crank arm 8, the other end vending machines and has for its object toproof which may be operatively connected either to vide a device which may be adapted for various a liquid Vendin D p other V d mecha- 5 types of machines for vending both articles and nism.

liquids. For example, the device may be employed Adjacent one end of the drum I and located in connection with machines for vending apples, above the latter, I provide an arm 9 which is oranges and. other fruits, or packages containing pivoted to the support 4 as at I0 and extends various products or articles of manufacture, or longitudinally of the drum in spaced relation 10 it may be used in connection with machines for thereto. The free end of this arm terminates in 10 pumping predetermined quantities of liquid to be a downwardly projecting lug l I which is adapted. vended. to normally engage a transversely elongated Another object of my invention is to provide a peripheral recess I2 in the drum I under the mechanism of this character particularly adapted tension of spring 9 mounted in the support 4.

for vending varying quantities of merchandise ac- Adjacent one end of the drum I, I provide a 15 cording to the denomination of the coin inserted. transverse coin receiving recess I3 adapted to re- In other words, the machine is equipped with ceive a coin of the lowest denomination for which means for receiving coins of varying denominathe machine is intended to be used, such for extion, such for example as 5, 10 and 25 pieces, ample as a five-cent piece shown in dotted lines at and for automatically vending a quantity of I3. This recess is of a suitable depth to retain 20 merchandise commensurate with the coin inan inserted coin in upright position with a porserted. tion of the latter extending beyond the periphery A further object of my invention is to provide 0f the drum in line for engagement with the a coin controlled mechanism embodying a prime underside of the arm 9 as the drum rotates.

mover in the form of arotary drum provided with Thus, as the handle 6 is turned in clockwise 25 a plurality of coin receiving recesses of suitable direction, in the absence of a coin from the slot dimensions to receive coins of different denomi- I3, the end of the recess I2 will enga e 1 I I nation, and means cooperating with an inserted and stop the rotation of the drum. On the other coin for controlling the number of revolutions of hand, with a Su a 00in inserted in the 8101? the drum according to the denomination of the the rotation of the drum brings the coin I3 into 30 inserted coin. engagement with the undersideof the arm 9 as With the above and other objects in view which shown in Fig. 2, whereupon the continued rotawill appear as the description proceeds, my intion of the drum and coin rocks the arm 9 upvention consists in the novel features herein set wardly on its pivot I0 and disengages the 11% I I forth, illustrated in the accompanying drawing from the recess I2. When the drum has com- 5 and more particularly pointed out in the appleted one-half of a rotation, the recess I3 has pended claims. reached the lower side of the drum and the coin Referring to the drawing in which numerals drops into a suitable receptacle not shown, and of like character designate similar parts throughby the time the other half of the rotation is com- 40 out the several views, pleted, thelug II drops back into the recess I2 40 Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view of one and prevents further rotation of the drum. form of my improved coin controlled mechanism. At an intermediate poi t in the drum I Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on provide a second coin receiving slot I4 adapted line 2-4 of Fig. l, and to receive an intermediate denomination of coin Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a modified form of l4 such for example as a ten-cent piece. This 45 my invention. recess is considerably deeper than the recess I3 In the drawing, referring to Figs. 1 and 2, nuand is provided in its bottom with a plunger I5 meral I represents a drum or cylindrical member normally retained in a predetermined position. as rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 2 carried shown in Fig. 1 by a coil spring or the like I6,

by suitable supports 3 and 4 within the casing 5 whereby a coin inserted in the slot I4 is suflicient- 50 of a vending machine. A crank arm handle 6 is ly elevated to operatively engage the arm 9 as operatively connected to the drum I at one end in the case of the coin l3. of its axis and projects through the casing 5 as Naturally the quantity of merchandise to be clearly shown in Fig. 1. At the other end of the vended for a ten-cent piece would be twice that axis of the drum I I provide a disc 1 rotatable to be vended for afive-cent piece, and it is neces- 55 sary for the drum I to make two complete revolutions. Hence I have provided means for retaining the coin I4 in the slot I4 for a second revolution.

As will be seen in Fig. 1, the left hand side of the slot I4 is open, and adjacent this open space I provide a ratchet I'I fixed on a rotary shaft I8 which extends transversely in a suitable enlarged recess in the drum I. This shaft is provided with four equally spaced resilient projections- I9, each terminating in a curved end adapted to successively engage the flat face of a coin I4 in the slot I4 upon the rotation of the shaft I8. The plunger I5 carries an upwardly projecting resilient pawl member 20, the upper end of which is adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet I1. At the opposite side of the ratchet I I, I provide a pivoted pawl 2I normally urged into engagement with the teeth of said ratchet by a spring 22 to prevent the reverse rotation of the ratchet and shaft I8.

Thus, upon rotating the drum I in clockwise direction by the handle 6, the coin I4 engages the underside of the arm 9 to release the lug II from the recess I2, and simultaneously therewith, the pressure on spring I6 brought about by the engagement of the coin with the arm 9, causes the plunger I5 to move downwardly and with it the pawl 20. This rotates the ratchet I7 and shaft I8 and brings the nearest resilient projection I9 into engagement with the flat side of the coin I4, the pawl 2I maintaining such engagement until the further rotation of the ratchet. The coin I4 now having released the lug II from the recess I2 in the drum, permits a complete revolution of the drum, and as said drum starts its second revolution, the coin I4 having been retained in the recess I4 by the action of the resilient projection I9, again engages the arm 9 to release the lug II a second time. The plunger I5 is again moved downwardly against the spring I6, this time having engaged the next tooth on the ratchet I1, and rotates the ratchet to a point where the resilient projection I9 disengages the coin. Hence, when the coin reaches the underside of the drum during the second rotation thereof, it drops from the slot I4 into the collecting receptacle, and when the second rotation is completed, the lug II has again engaged the recess I2 to prevent further rotation of the drum.

These projections I9 are so arranged that upon the rotation of the ratchet, one of said projections is alternately brought into and out of engagement with a coin in slot I4. Thus, upon the insertion of a coin a second time, the operation just described is repeated.

Near the end of the drum adjacent the handle 6, I provide a third coin receiving slot 23 adapted to receive a coin of still higher denomination, such for example as a twenty-five-cent piece 23. This slot is provided with a plunger 24 and spring 25 as in the case of the slot I4, but instead of the projections I9 just described in connection with the ratchet I1, I provide adjacent the slot 23 a ratchet 26 rotatably mounted on a shaft 21 which carries a rotary disc 28. The periphery of this disc is provided with a series of brushlike resilient projections 29 which project radially therefrom and cover substantially four-fifths /5 ths) of the periphery of said disc, the remaining fifth (%th) of the disc being a bare peripheral space as shown at 38 in Fig. 1.

The plunger 24 is provided with an upwardly projecting resilient pawl 3I adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet 26, and on the opposite side of the ratchet 26 I provide a pivoted pawl 32 normally forced by spring 33 intoengagement with the teeth of the ratchet to prevent the reverse rotation thereof.

Thus, in the operation of this device by the insertion of a twenty-five cent coin 23 in the slot 23, the periphery of the coin engages the underside of the arm 9 to release the lug II from the recess I2, and simultaneously the plunger 24 is moved downwardly which in turn rotates the ratchet 26 and disc 28 one-fifth of a revolution to bring a portion of the brush-like surface of the disc into contact with the flat side of the coin 23'. This retains the coin in the slot 23 as the drum I completes five rotations, each rotation advancing the ratchet one-fifth of its circumference until the last rotation of the drum brings the blank space 30 adjacent the coin 23'. Hence, on this last rotation, as the coin reaches the underside of the drum I, it is permitted to drop into the coin receptacle.

The modified form of my invention shown in Fig. 3 operates essentially under the same principle as that just described but the specific structure of the elements is somewhat different. In this figure, I have shown the coin controlled mechanism as applied to a vending machine for delivering packages or articles from a magazine 34 by means of a plunger 35 pivoted to a delivery arm 36 hereinafter described in connection with the coin controlled mechanism.

As in the case of the structure just described, this modified form comprises a rotary drum I having one or more coin receiving slots 37 in its periphery, each adapted to receive a coin 31'. The drum I is recessed as at 38 adjacent each coin receiving slot 37 and in this recess I provide an arm 39, its lower end pivoted as at 49 on a transverse shaft, the upper end of said arm 39 r lying adjacent the periphery of a coin in the slot 31 and being curved to correspond substantially to the periphery of said coin. This arm 39 is normally held out of engagement with the periphery of the coin 31' by means of a spring 4| 1 so as to permit entrance of a coin into the slot.

A ratchet 42 is mounted on a transverse shaft 43 adjacent the intermediate portion of the arm 39, said shaft being provided with a plurality of resilient projections 44 similar in all respects to the projections I9 in Fig. 1 except that instead of engaging the coin as in the former structure, in the modified form, the projections 44 engage the edge of the arm 39 to retain the latter in engagement with the periphery of a coin 31 hereinafter appear. The arm 39 is provided adjacent its fulcrum 40 with an upwardly pro jecting member 45 adapted to serve as a bearing support for the pivoted resilient pawl 46, the

upper end of which is adapted to engage the teeth Q of a ratchet 42. This pawl is formed integral with a projecting arm 41 which is arranged at such an angle with respect to the pawl that it normally extends beyond the periphery of the drum I in line with a stationary abutment 48 suitably secured to the frame of the machine. A spring 49 normally urges the arm 41 downwardly and in turn releases the pawl 46 from engagement with the teeth of the ratchet 42. A second pivoted pawl 59 under the tension of prevents reverse rotation of the ratchet 42.

Adjacent the periphery of the drum I, I provide a rocker arm 52 fulcrumed atv 53, the upper end of said arm lying in the line of rotation. of the projecting end of the coin engaging arm 39, its

as will iii) spring 5i 2;-

pivot 40, the arm 52 forces the arm 39 inwardly and with it carries the projecting arm 41 into the recess 39 so that it fails to engage the stationary abutment 48. Thus the delivery arms remain stationary without delivering an article, and the ratchet 42 is unmoved.

On the other hand, with a coin properly inserted in the slot 31, the rotation of the drum I brings the arm 39 into engagement with the upper end of the arm 52, and after the arm 39 has moved inwardly to engage the periphery of the coin 31', the arm 52 is rocked on its fulcrum 53 causing the delivery arm 36 and plunger 35 to eject the lowermost article from the magazine 34. It will be noted that the arm 39 has a double function in that it retains the coin 31 in position during two or more rotations of the drum l and also serves to prevent wear on the periphery of the coin due to friction.

It is of course understood that in this modified form, the drum is provided with the same number of slots and for the same denomination coins as that described in connection with Fig. 1. Thus thefive-cent slot of the modified drum is not provided with the ratchet and projections 42 and 43, and as the drum makes one rotation, the coin drops fromthe slot into a suitable coin receptacle. However, when a ten-cent piece is inserted as illustrated in Fig. 3, simultaneously with the rotation of the drum and engagement of the arms .39 and 52, the projecting arm 41 engages the stationary abutment 48 and rocks the pawl 46 downwardly to rotate the ratchet 42 and shaft 43 to a point where one of the projections 44 engages the adjacent edge of the arm 39 to retain the coin engaging portion thereof in contact with the periphery'of the coin 31, the ratchet 50 preventing the release of said coin until the second rotation of the drum I has commenced.-

It will be understood that this same principle of operation is employed in connection with the third or twenty-five-cent slot; a brush-like disc being provided to insure the proper number of operative engagements of the arm 39 with the arm 52. I

It will thus be seen that I have provided a novel and eflicient coin controlled mechanism which may be employed in various capacities such as vending machines in department stores, fruit stands and liquid dispensing establishments, whereby a customer may purchase any desired quantity of merchandise by inserting the proper denomination coin.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in the specific structure of the elements herein described. For example, instead of employing a handle 6 for rotating the drum I, an electric motor may be installed, and furthermore, although I have shown only three coin slots in the drum, more or less may be employed within the concept of my invention.

From the foregoing it is believed that the advantages and operation of my invention may be readily understood by those skilled in the art without further description, it being borne in mind that numerous changes may be made in the details disclosed without departing from the spirit-oi my invention'as set out in the following claims.

What I'claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

v 1. Coin controlled mechanism for vending machines comprising a rotary member, means for rotating the same, a coin recess in said rotary member, a pivoted lever associated with said rotary member and engageable by a coin in said recess for controlling the operation of a vending machine, a device carried by said'rotary'member and adapted tointermittently prevent thedisplacement of said coin during a predetermined number of revolutionsof said rotary member and to release the same upon the last of said revolutions, and ratchet means operable upon the rotation of said rotary member for operating said device.

2'. Coin controlled mechanism for vending machines comprising a rotary member, means for rotating the same, a coin recess'in said rotary member, aklever pivotally mounted in a transl verse slot in said rotary member and adapted to be swung into said recess, means for causing the free end of said lever to normally project radially beyond the periphery of said rotary member, a second pivoted lever mounted adjacent'the periphery of said rotary member with one end thereof normally lying in close proximity thereto, its other end being operatively associated with a vending device, said first named lever having a coin engaging portion adjacent its free end, whereby when a coin is inserted in said recess and said rotary member is rotated, the free end of said first lever is caused to abut the adjacent end of said second lever to cause the operation of said vending device, and means carried by said rotary member for preventing the displacement of said coin during a predetermined number of rotations of said rotary member, said last named means being adapted to release said coin after a predetermined quantity of merchandise has been vended, whereby the vending of further merchandise is prevented.

3. In a coin controlled mechanism for vending machines including a rotary member, means for rotating the same, a coin recess in said rotary member and a pivoted lever engageable by said coin for controlling the operation of a vending device, means for preventing the displacement of a coin from saidrecess during a predetermined number of rotations of said rotary member, comprising a ratchet rotatably mounted in said rotary member and carrying a plurality of resilient projections adapted to successively exert a pressure against said coin to retain the same in said recess, a pawl member associated with said ratchet and operable by the rotation of said rotary member to intermittently cause the partial rotation of said ratchet, whereby said resilient projections are successively brought into and out of operative position.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said resilient projections are adapted to directly engage said coin to prevent its displacement.

5. Coin controlled mechanism for vending machines comprising a rotary member, means for rotating the same, a coin recess in said rotary member, a lever pivotally mounted in a transverse slot in said rotary member and adapted to be swung into said recess, means for causing the free end of said lever to normally project radially beyond the periphery of said rotary m'ember, a second pivoted lever mounted adjacent the periphery of said rotary member with one end thereof normally lying in close proximitythereto, its other end being operatively associated with a vending device, said first named lever having a coin engaging portion adjacent its free end,whereby when a coin is inserted in said recess and said rotary member is rotated, the free end of said first lever is caused to abut the adjacent end of said second lever to cause the operation of said vending device, means carried by said rotary member for preventing the displacement of said coin during a predetermined number of rotations of said rotary member, said means comprising a ratchet rotatably mounted in said rotary member and carrying a plurality of resilient projections adapted to successively engage said first named lever to retain the coin engaging portion of the latter in engagement with a coin in said recess, and a pawl membelvassociated with said ratchet and operable by the rotation of said rotary member to intermittently cause the partial rotation of said ratchet, whereby said resilient projections are successively brought into and out of operative position.

6. Coin controlled mechanism for vending machines comprising a rotary member, means for rotating the same, a coin recess in said rotary member, a lever pivotally mounted in a transverse slot in said rotary member and adapted to swing into said recess, means for normally causing the free end of said lever to lie outside of said recess and project beyond the periphery of said rotary member, means operable by said free end upon the rotation of said rotary member for actuating a vending device, said lever having a coin engaging portion adjacent its free end, whereby when a coin is inserted in said recess and said rotary member is rotated, the free end of said lever is retained in operative position, and means carried by said rotary member for preventing the displacement of said coin during a predetermined number of rotations of said rotary member, said last named means being adapted to release said coin after a predetermined quantity of merchandise has been vended,'whereby the vending of further merchandise is prevented.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 including a ratchet rotatably mounted in said transverse slot adjacent said lever, said ratchet being provided with at least one resilient projection adapted to engage said lever upon the rotation of said ratchet, a pawl member fulcrumed on the hub of said lever and movable therewith, said pawl being adapted to engage said ratchet when said lever is in its normal operative position, an arm fixed to said pawl and adapted to project beyond the periphery of said rotary member when said pawl and lever are in operative position, an abutment adjacent the periphery of said rotary member and arranged in the line of movement of the projecting arm of said pawl, whereby upon the rotation of said rotary member, said pawl will be actuated to cause the partial rotation of said ratchet.

8. Coin controlled mechanism for vending machines comprising a rotary member, means for rotating the same, a detent normally engaging 3 said rotary member to prevent the complete rotation thereof, a coin recess in said rotary member and adapted to retain a.coin with a portion thereof projecting beyond the periphery of said rotary member and in line with said detent whereby upon the partial rotation of said rotarymember said coin will engage and release said detent, a ratchet rotatably mounted in said rotary member adjacent said coin recess and provided with a plurality of resilient projections adapted to successively engage said coin to retain the same in said recess, a plunger in the lower extremity of said recess normally forced outwardly by a spring, said plunger supporting the coin in said recess and being forced inwardly by the contact of said coin with said detent, a pawl operatively associated with said plunger and adapted to engage said ratchet when said plunger is moved inwardly, and a second pawl pivoted to said rotary member for locking said ratchet against reverse rotation.

9. Coin controlled mechanism for vending machines comprising a rotary member, means for rotating the same, a plurality of recesses in said rotary member for receiving coins of difierent denominations, a lever pivotally mounted in a transverse slot in said rotary member adjacent each of said recesses and adapted to be swung into the respective recesses, means for causing the free end of each lever to normally project radially beyond the periphery of said rotary member, means adjacent each of said free ends and actuated thereby for operating a vending device, each of said levers having a coin engaging por tion adjacent its free end, whereby when a coin is inserted in the respective recess and said rotary member is rotated, the free end of said lever is caused to actuate said vending device, and means carried by said rotary member adjacent certain of said levers for preventing the displacement of said coins during a predetermined number of rotations of said rotary member, the number of rotations permitted varying in accordance with the denomination of the coin inserted.

CHARLES WALKER. 

